AFRICA BOWS TO UGANDA! Uganda’s David Kaggwa Conquer 2026 Africa Construction Law Awards
2026 Africa Construction Law Annual Award winners - Uganda's David Kaggwa and Nigeria's Adeleresimi Philips-Adeleye and Ngo-Martins from Aluko & Oyebode. Kaggwa, Senior Partner, Kaggwa & Kaggwa Associates in Uganda, was the Leading Legal Practitioner winner. Aluko & Oyebode’s Project Pulse Enugu - Onitsha Expressway (RITC Scheme) was named the leading project/initiative. The award was accepted by Philips-Adeleye and Okonmah. Pic by Yolanda van der Stoep
Uganda’s legal and infrastructure circles are celebrating after the country emerged among the biggest winners at the prestigious held at a glamorous gala dinner in Johannesburg on May 12, 2026.
The high-profile awards ceremony, attended by some of Africa’s most influential legal minds, infrastructure experts, consultants, developers and construction professionals, recognised individuals, firms and organisations that have demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation and impact in the delivery of infrastructure and the advancement of construction law across the continent.
Uganda was among those leading celebrations and spotlighting Uganda’s growing influence in Africa’s infrastructure and legal ecosystem. Ugandan legal heavyweight David Kaggwa emerged victorious in one of the night’s most competitive categories.
Kaggwa, the Senior Partner at Kaggwa & Kaggwa Associates, won the coveted Leading Legal Practitioner Award, defeating top contenders from across the continent and cementing Uganda’s place among Africa’s rising legal powerhouses in the construction and infrastructure sector.
Also nominated in the highly contested category were Cephas Caleb, Partner at Aluko & Oyebode from Nigeria, and Tosho Suleiman, Deputy General Counsel at the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.
The awards gala formed part of the Africa Construction Law Conference, which returned for its 6th edition this year. The two-day convention was held in South Africa for the very first time after previous editions were hosted in Nigeria and Kenya.
The 2026 conference ran under the powerful theme “Construction in Transition: Building Africa’s Infrastructure for the Next Era,” a theme that dominated discussions among delegates amid Africa’s rapidly evolving infrastructure landscape.
The Rising Star Award went to Wambui Githu, Principal Associate at Mohammed Muigai LLP in Kenya, after impressing judges with her emerging influence and contribution within the sector.
The category attracted fierce competition from across Africa and Europe. Other nominees included Abide Raselabe, Senior Associate at Bowmans South Africa; Adel Tourbah, Senior Director at FTI Consulting in France; Adeleresimi Philips-Adeleye, Senior Associate at Aluko & Oyebode in Nigeria; and Jeremy Odor, Legal Counsel at NSIA Nigeria.
In the Leading Expert non-legal category, the award was won by Thierry Linares, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting in France.
The category also featured Daniel Rowe, Managing Director of Jackson Rowe in the United Kingdom, Gabriel Armanet, Senior Director at FTI Consulting France, and Xavier Rayo, Senior Director at FTI Consulting France.
Nigeria’s Aluko & Oyebode continued its dominance during the night after winning the Leading Project/Initiative Award for Project Pulse Enugu-Onitsha Expressway under the RITC Scheme.
Also nominated in that category were Anjarwalla & Khanna from Kenya, Banwo & Ighodalo from Nigeria and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.
The night’s biggest honour, the Lifetime Achievement Award, was handed to Babatunde Fagbohunlu, SAN and Senior Partner at Aluko & Oyebode in Nigeria.
Fagbohunlu was recognised for a distinguished legal career spanning commercial litigation and arbitration across several sectors including maritime, intellectual property, telecommunications, taxation, finance and banking, contracts, receiverships and insolvency, commercial law transactions and general litigation at both trial and appellate levels.
He has advised clients operating in oil and gas, construction and infrastructure, financial services and telecommunications industries and has regularly represented Nigerian, foreign and multinational clients in ad hoc arbitrations as well as arbitrations administered by international institutions including the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.
The glittering gala dinner once again demonstrated how Africa’s infrastructure boom is increasingly creating continental legal stars, billion-dollar opportunities and fierce competition among top law firms and infrastructure experts.
But for Uganda, the biggest talking point remained the triumph of David Kaggwa, whose victory sent a loud message that Ugandan legal experts are no longer spectators but key players in Africa’s fast-growing infrastructure and construction law industry.
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